The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-19
A PRINCE CREMATED.
How They Dispose of the Dead in S

HOW They Dispose of the Dead in Siam.
From the PuH Mall Gazette
On the afternoon of April % last we an
chQred off the mouth OF the magnificent
river Menam, and in the evening weighed
anchor, crossed the bar and proceeded up
the river. We anchored again about IL %.
m, close to the left bank, beyond the town
OF Paknam, in an atmosphere fragrant with
the odor of orange blossoms from a grove
close by, and were lullabyed to our slumbers
by the chirping of the ground crickets and
the pleasant and incessant small, bell-peal-
like croakings of the tree frogs. Early next
morning we proceeded on our Journey to
Bangkok, the capital of Siam, passing on
our way large tracts of mangrove swamps
and paddy fields, plantations of oranges,
sugar canes. cocoanut palms and tall, slim
Oetel or areca-nut palms, Buddhist temples
or watts, floating houses, and arrived at our
destination by noon. On our arrival we
were informed that we had come in time to
attend royal cremation that evening, but
that we had missed the mortuary rites,
which had been going on for six days pre-
Vlously So to pass the time till evening
we determined to visit the temples and sa-
cred white elephants The temples in Bang
kok are much the same as other Buddhist
temples throughout the East. AS for the
elephants, they are frauds-poor, measly
bruteS, suffering from parasitic skin affec-
tions: Though the paehyderms are sacred,
ennobled and titled, they do not seem to
have happy time. Their confreres in the
London Zoo have princely times in compar-
ison. They are poorly fed and poorly housed
and very badly groomed. Are there Albino
elephants! | do not know; but do know
that the King of Siam does not possess one.
Some years ago a French circus man
bleached the skin of an ordinary elephant
with chlorine water and sold him to the
confiding Siamese government, and then
cleared out of Siam. Presently the animal
began to look dirty and the keepers were
f1ogged and changed for not keeping the
brute clean. The new keepers failed to
clean him, of course and the fraud was dis
covered. The strange part of the story is
that there is an old SiameSe tradition to the
effect that whoever plays any pranks or de-
ceit on or about white elephants shall surely
die within year of doing so. The circus
man actually did die within year of his
sale in Hong Kong.
Four-thirty in the afternoon found us I'M
der the fostering wings of some of the
occupants of the British Legation, view
ing the preparations for the coming
crematory performance 1t seems that
the King of Siam, Somdetch P'ra
Paramindr Mahan Chulalonkora re-
Gently lost his favorite uncle, His Royal
Highness Somdetch Chovia Mahamala, Som
detch Phra, Bamrap Parapaks, whose re-
mains were to be cremated on this evening
Such nameSl They make one wonder whether
the Siamese are an Asiatic branch of the
Welsh people. Outside the palace gate, on
the parade ground, a square space was main
tanned by native soldiers and sailors, and
within it was the temporary building, the
phramane, which covered the urn containing
the corpse. Besides the phramane there were
anumber of pavilions and show booths within
the square, in which native artists acted and
discoursed music not at all displeasing to
European ears. The phramane was big,
gaudy, tawdry, tinselated superstructure
which sent golden spire heavenward. Its
entrance was guarded by two immense be-
spangled sitting figures of Buddha. Within
was high inclosed dais, and around this
were a number of grotesquely-colored wood
en- figures, representing rampant lions bo-
dies surrounded by Notwithstanding mems
heads. Squatting on the floor were num-
Der of yellow-clad, shaven-headed Buddhist
priests, with tomtoms and candles, who kept
up perpetual but varying drumming, and
who occasionally broke forth into monot-
onous refrain.
The King entered the phramane about
o'clock, amid much trumpeting and sur
rounded by big retinue. He bowed to the
dais and prayed, then assembled the steps
and entered the inclosure, and amid the loud
chanting and tomtoming of the kowtowing
priests he fired the pile beneath the urn and
again prayed. He descended and departed.
Then the Princes entered the Enclosure and
performed their obsequies, and then fol-
lowed the native mobiles, among whom we
found ourselves. On the dais around the
urn was a kind of shelf, on which were piled
innu1nerable tapers made of sandalwood
frankincense and wax. Each person, on
entering, lit number of these and showed
them under the urn which, by the same
token, was not much bigger than decent
sized pot. How they managed to stow the
remains in it / do not know The abomina-
bic smell of fllzzling human flesh that splut-
tered and spat in the pot, which the arc
matte fumes of the sandal and frankincense
failed to disguise, permeated the building
and drove us forth.
When the King had performed his obse-
quies he adjourned to pavilion, where he
held an audience. He seated himself on q
kind of balcony and several of his little
children were brought to him. On another
balcony on his right the numerous Princes
of royal blood seated themselves. The body
of the pavilion was set apart for the mobiles,
ministers and distinguished foreigners, !"
some of whom were ladies' When his ma
jesty had sat for time i'll silence he sud
denly produced large bag full of green
lines each of which contained O small sill
yer coin in its core. These he threw among
the Princes, mobiles and people to be scran-
bled for, but presented some by hand to the
foreigners especially to the foreign ladies.
When he had exhauted the contents of this
bag he produced another containing nuts,
which he treated similarly Each nut con-
tanned numbered ticket, with the name of
the prize as kernel. The prizes were the
personal effects of the deceased and were
distributed in this way to be mementoes of
him. Some of them were not bad. but many
were naturally distributed ludicrously. One
of my friends, a non-smoker received an
old and much-abused meerschaum pipe;
another, an old cigar-holder and a very
common Chinese wood AK. A French lady
of title received a mans shirt front-a thing
commonly called "a dickey;" also an odd
pair of the dead mans long stockings and
an old white waistcoat, all much the worse
for wear. myself received a pretty little
satin-wood cabinet and was much pleased.
heard that some of the prizes We're costly
articles Of jewelry but did not sec any
such.